The ONE Thing You Must Have To Be Indispensable

One hundred and eleven episodes ago and what feels a LONG….LONG…LONG time ago I started a podcast called Being Indispensable.

I was a novice at podcasting. A proverbial babe in the podcasting woods but I was so eager to learn.  

The same could be said for the job I was doing at the time. I was working as an Executive Assistant and ‘out of my depth’ doesn’t even hit the sides of what I was feeling.  I was alone and had no network. No peers. No support.  

Just Not Enough

Every day I woke up feeling anxious and stressed and most nights I came home relieved to be shutting the door behind me. I had found myself in the role of an Executive Assistant having never done the job before. Padraig, my boss hired me because of the soft skills I had from many years in corporate sales and marketing. He knew I was a novice EA but he felt I would pick up the hard skills in time. 

I was desperate to be seen as valuable. To feel that I was doing a great job. For my boss to see me as adding value. But I had no one to turn to for reassurance. For advice. For encouragement. 

I wanted to be seen as invaluable and be a safe pair of hands for Padraig. But I felt vulnerable. It was my first paid employment post Breast Cancer treatment and recovery and I was broken in so many ways. 

What I Did Have Going For Me

I was lucky. I had a wonderful, supportive boss. So many Executive Assistants are not so fortunate. 

You feel like I felt but you don’t have a manager that empowers you. That makes you feel that you are enough. That you can be more. 

Unintentionally, Being Indispensable (the podcast) gave me a way of finding that support network at a time when I so desperately needed it. What has been even better is that it has allowed me to lift up and celebrate the many Executive Assistants I’ve met as a result of doing the podcast. 

Perception Versus Reality

The reality is that we are ALL dispensable. We could be hit by a bus or let go because of the impact of Covid-19 on our organisation. BUT we can show up as indispensable. As linchpins. We can make our manager and our organisation think twice about choosing us to let go. And even if that reality does eventuate, we can pick ourselves up, brush ourselves off and move onwards feeling confident in the value we offer. 

Showing up as indispensable is making the choice to take back control of how you are seen by others.  But before that can happen you need something else. Self belief. And that is the first step on the path that I want you to be on.  

Remember, There Is Only ONE You

We are human beings not human doings. You are not what you do. You are how you do it. The essence of you that belongs ONLY to you. 

Before you can be indispensable to your boss and to those around you in your organisation (and even to those at home) you need to be indispensable to yourself. 

Sending you love and support

Liz Van Vliet

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Liz Van Vliet, The Linchpin Assistant

Meet Liz

I work with Executive Assistants and Administrative Assistants to deliver the confidence, consistency and career development that transforms them into thriving Linchpin Assistants. 

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